JRN 203 Infographics Project - Abortion in the United States (2020)

Abortion is Declining

These ASFs represent different aspects of abortion in the United States during 2020, which is the latest year with such data available. There have been significant efforts in the past few years to restrict abortion access—such as the overturn of Roe v. Wade—that likely have contributed to these statistics. Abortion has had a steady decline over the past years, so it’s not out of the question to relate that piece of data to legislation regarding reproductive rights. Additionally, the bar graph shows that Black individuals get more abortions than other race groups, even though they make up less of the population than white or Hispanic people. Systemic inequalities and injustices likely play a role in this statistic. As detailed in the map, states with high populations and cities subsequently have high abortion rates as well, where POC tend to live more than rural areas. The pie chart shows that the highest percentage of those who get abortions are people in their 20s; another statistic by the CDC stated that unmarried individuals accounted for the majority of abortions. This may point to idea that the less “settled in” people are, the more likely they are to get an abortion. Lastly, the infographic mentions the fact that the majority of abortions happen well before nine weeks of gestation, proving that most individuals get abortions early on in their pregnancy. Overall, the data collected from the CDC and the United States Census Bureau –which work to collect data on health-related topics and population statistics—shows that race, geographical location, gestation timing, systemic inequalities, age and legislative and political action all play a role in the declining number of abortions in the United States.